The Aftermath
by Melodist
Summary: After tragedy strikes, Donatello finds a friend where he least expects it. I lied. It turned into more than a oneshot.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Donatello, or the Shredder. Wish I did though.

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**The Aftermath**

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_1.5 weeks - post-outbreak_

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"Did you know that I was married, Donatello?"

I didn't know that. I'd never bothered to ask. Whenever I'd been busy getting my butt kicked by the Foot, or vice versa, I'd never bothered to stop and say, 'Hey, how's your Master doing? Does he date much? Found that special someone yet?'

"I met her in Japan, three years ago." The man sitting next to me smiled fondly as we looked out over the dark outline of New York City. "My father would have killed me if he'd been alive to know about her. She was an American. Southern Belle, I believe they're called. She was the sweetest girl I'd ever met. Innocent, naïve, and beautiful. She was on vacation, visiting a friend from college. Does that surprise you?"

"Well, you never struck me as the marrying type."

He laughed bitterly, picking up a loose pebble from the roof and tossing it with expert aim into a tin can that was sitting on the ledge of the building. "No, I suppose I didn't." There was a long pause that I didn't feel the need to interrupt. "I loved her from the moment we met. She hated me… but I won her over eventually."

"I bet the wedding pictures were awkward. How'd you explain the helmet?"

The corner of his mouth raised up in an amused grin. "I kept her away from all that. For all she knew, I was a businessman. We had a house upstate in a nice suburban neighborhood. Mr. and Mrs. Yoshida. Her parents weren't too pleased with the name change." He laughed again, traces of sadness seeping in despite his jovial appearance. "They never liked me."

"Not a lot of people do."

"Mmm… very true. I haven't made many friends over the years, have I?"

"The blades and the armor probably frightened most of them off."

"Well, that _was_ the point."

"It worked." We sat in silence for a while, until my curiosity finally got the better of me. "What was her name?"

"Sara."

"I'm sorry."

He threw another pebble, then turned to look at me, all the malice I'd known over the years gone from his eyes. "I am sorry for your loss as well, Donatello. I can only assume that since you're here alone…"

"No…" I confirmed sadly. "They didn't survive."

I listened to the sounds of the night, trying not to think of my brothers and my father. To be taken so suddenly… their bodies destroyed by a vicious disease… it wasn't fair. They weren't supposed to pass on like that. And it certainly wasn't fair that I'd survived. I'd won the genetic lottery and had to sit by and watch my family grow sick and die, while I remained healthy and alive. But I had mourned already. After I'd buried them and kept watch over their graves for two nights, I'd started roaming the streets. I looked for survivors, but those I found wanted nothing to do with me. Even had I been human, they would have still run in fright. The city was dark, silent; a tomb, littered with rotting diseased corpses.

I don't know where I was going to go, but my plan had been to leave the city tonight. I'd been making one more round, looking for anyone left alive that would want to come with me, and I'd stumbled on the last person I'd expected. Fate has a twisted sense of irony sometimes, and the fact that the Shredder had also been left immune was about as twisted as it got.

But the man I found sitting on a rooftop alone and defenseless, and the man I'd fought against over the past five years were two completely different people.

"I buried Sara five nights ago…"

The silence fell once more, and it wasn't uncomfortable. When the whole world went to hell, it made you realize how insignificant your personal troubles were. A blood feud between two families seemed rather trivial now that the world's population had been reduced by almost 97%.

I don't know how long we sat there, not speaking. Every once a while a gun shot or a hoarse cry could be heard from somewhere in the city, but it was of no consequence to me anymore.

"Look…" I said finally. "I was going to get out of the city. I don't know where I'll go, but I don't want to stay here anymore. If you want to come with me…"

He looked at me in surprise. I was actually quite shocked with myself to tell the truth.

"You'd trust me?"

"What have I got to lose?"

Nodding slowly, Saki stood up. He reached out a hand, his dark eyes glittering in the starlight. " I'd be honored to join you, Donatello."

His handshake was strong and firm, and as we looked at each other, an understanding passed between us. We were ninja. Family and clans gone, our only connection to the lives we once had were each other. As we made our way along the deserted streets together, I prayed I wouldn't come to regret this decision.

But the sun was rising on us as we left the city and our animosity behind. Tragedy has a funny way of turning old enemies into new friends, and I already felt less alone.

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**Author's Notes: **I needed to take a quick break from Misadventures, and I just couldn't get this out of my head. Inspired by one of my all-time favorite Stephen King books, The Stand.

This little one-shot may evolve into a longer story at some point, probably detailing the events leading up to this meeting. …Unless I start writing and it branches off in a completely different direction. Who knows.

Hope y'all enjoyed it. And now, back to Misadventures!

EDITED: Just a note. I do know that Saki's surname is Oroku. The Yoshida thing was a false name that he lived under with his wife.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Donatello, or the Shredder. Wish I did though.

**Author's Notes: **I couldn't get this out of my head… so… here's the next installment. This time, from Saki's point of view.

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**The Aftermath – Part 2**

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_Four months – post-outbreak_

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"I knew it…" Donatello whispered harshly and stood up, wiping the blood from his mouth. "I _knew_ you'd betray me. I trusted you! You could you do this to me?"

I had to give the turtle credit. He really knew how to take a beating. This battle had been a long time coming. "You were a fool then, Donatello. You should know better than anyone… we can't help what we are."

Donatello let out a primal cry and lunged for me. We'd given up on the finer points of the ninja arts early on, and reduced the combat to mere fistfights, headlocks, and good old-fashioned punching, kicking, and occasionally biting.

The tension had been building for a long time. The urge too strong, the wounds on our hearts had cut far too deep. It was inevitable that the end would come like this. I almost hated to see it end though. I was having way too much fun beating the crap out of my shelled companion.

Donatello somehow managed to connect a punch, and it sent me reeling backwards. There were stars in my eyes from the force, and it quite honestly, stunned me. I didn't know he'd had that much strength left.

I shook my head, trying to clear the fuzziness, but not in time to avoid being tackled. He hit me with a force that knocked the wind from me, and we rolled on the ground. I heard an inhuman growl erupting from his throat and I realized I might have made a terrible mistake in picking this fight. With all the strength I had, I somehow managed to throw him off of me, and jumped to my feet. I had to end this soon. I'd pushed him too far this time.

When he came for me again, I was ready. In his blind rage, he was careless. I easily sidestepped his attack and took my time preparing myself. I drew the blade from the sheath that hung at my side. It was the first weapon drawn.

Donatello turned from his failed attack and gazed at me with such malice that I felt a twinge of fear. He could still beat me, I wasn't too proud to admit. I had to be careful… I had to have perfect timing. If I let him gain even an inch on me, it could be the end.

We circled each other slowly, and he pulled a similar blade from his own belt. We were evenly matched in this. At least if one of us died, it would be with honor in a fair fight. Moving swiftly forward, we met in the middle, the sharp metallic clangs of our weapons sounding through the otherwise silent world.

I was moving fast now… faster than I had in a long time, and my muscles strained from the use. This was the ultimate test, the ultimate showdown between our two clans. Donatello was good... He was better than I'd remembered.

But he wasn't good enough.

In a moment of weakness, my blade slipped through, cleanly severing his head from his body.

I let out a cry of triumph, jumped up and pointed a finger at his dead body. "_THAT_, my friend, is how you win a battle!"

"What the HELL is going on here?" A voice screamed from behind me. I winced and looked at the petite redhead standing behind me with her hands on her hips.

"Um… I can explain."

"Oh, _no_." She said. "We did _not_ spend three days fixing the damn generator just so you two could kill brain cells with that stupid game!"

I winced and looked over at Donnie who was desperately trying to hide the PS2 controller under the couch cushion. I dropped mine and kicked it away guiltily.

"We were just… uh… making sure everything was working properly again, Sasha. That's all."

Her green eyes flashed and she pointed a wooden spoon at me. "I expected better from you, _Saki_. Now get the hell into the kitchen and help Greg with dinner. It's your night to cook. And _you_..." She turned to Donatello. "Don't you have a radio station to get up and running again?"

"Yah... uh… I'll get right on that." Donnie had the graces to look ashamed and he scurried out of the room. I would have laughed at how he always jumped to her beck and call… except for the fact she was in the room. I may be strong… and I may be fast… and I may be ninja… but even I wouldn't escape the wrath of Sasha. I knew; I'd tried.

As I walked past toward the kitchen, she smacked me in the chest with the spoon and glared at me. "You two feed off each other. If I thought it possible, I'd separate you for the _rest of your lives_." She shook her head in disgust and walked off, muttering under her breath. "Boys…"

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**After the fic Author's Notes:** I just couldn't get this out of my head after playing Tekken 5 (I think it was) on the PS2. Hehehe. Because I know so many guys that would sit around after the end of the world and play video games all day. This is dedicated to them.

**Notes to my Reviewers:**

**Isis-Lament:** I _totally_ see the old cartoon Shredder doing this. I couldn't help it. I think that Shredder is best matched with Donatello and would make for some pretty interesting (if not hilarious) situations.

I felt I needed to lighten it up after the tragedy of the first chapter. I think this story is going to turn into one of those, "Hey, I don't know what to write, so I'll do another little Aftermath ficlet". (sigh)

**Reinbeauchaser: **Yah, I noticed that percent thing when I was double checking the story. I reposted though, but not before some people had already reviewed. My bad! And as for Saki, I should have cleared it up a bit more. There was a whole conversation thread that I was going to follow explaining how he'd given his wife a false name, but it got deleted and I forgot to go back and explain. (sheepish grin) Sorry! I didn't mean to cause confusion.

**Trillian4210:** I'm having a hard time breaking out of first-person writing, but I'm going to have to soon. (The Misadventures sequel will be completely third person, so I need to start practicing.) Anyway, I tried to humanize the Shredder because.. well.. he _is_ human, and I think people sometimes forget that. (I don't buy into the whole Utrom thing.)

And hopefully I didn't piss off too many Don fans with this chapter. I was cringing while I typed his 'death' line.

**Lunar-ninja: **The Shredder has always been one of my favorite characters. (Ok, yah, I had a bit of a crush on the old cartoon version of him). But I wanted to think of what could possibly make him change his views on life, and thought… well… a wife might do that. One that he cared about enough to keep her away from everything he didn't want to be when he was around her. …if that made sense. Anyway, and out popped a story!

**pacphys: ** Yah, The Stand is one of my all-time favorite books. I think I've read it at least 20 times. And that's the unabridged version. Hmm… it's been almost… 4 months since I've read it now that I think about it. I need to get it out again soon. Heheh. Well, thanks for the review, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!

**Dierdre:** Ask, and ye shall receive. (sigh) I blame you for putting this plot bunny in my head. I was all set to move on and forget about this little tragic piece of fic, and then I see, _"It'd be great to see what adventures and mishaps Donny and Saki would get themselves into during their journey together."_ …and it all kind of snowballed from there. I thought I'd better balance out the darker tone of the first part, with a nice light killing maiming, hah-fooled you chapter. ….so yah. This is all your fault.

**Sassyblondexoxo:** Well, we get to see a little bit of Saki's 'fun' side here. I honestly think the guy must have a fantastic sense of humor, albeit a bit dark one. (grins) The prequel is in the brainstorming process, but for now you'll have to settle for little 'aftershock' fics.

**FairDrea:** If you're going to read The Stand, I definitely recommend the unabridged version as opposed to the original print. There's just so much more detail and plot threads, it's fantastic. I was actually fairly impressed with the TV adaptation…so much so that I own two copies of it… :)

I really hope this chapter didn't detract from the seriousness of the first. I just couldn't let it be all tragic. If I ever do more chapters, I'm sure some of them will become darker as well, but I just needed a cute little something to waste time. Heh.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Donatello, or the Shredder. Wish I did though. The newcomer to this chapter is mine though.

**Author's Notes: **Chapter 3 jumps back and takes place in between 1 and 2. This timeline is all messed up. :)

**The Aftermath – Part 3**

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**_Two to three weeks – post-outbreak_

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It wasn't until the night after they met that man and turtle made their way out of the silent tomb that New York City had become. Around the smoldering rubble of buildings torched by those driven insane during the aftermath of the plague, Donatello and Saki made their way out of the once booming metropolis to the rural counties that lay beyond. They hiked up their backpacks filled with food and medical supplies, and made their way past the rotting corpses that littered the streets.

At the start of the outbreak, bodies had been properly disposed of; but as the weeks went on and more people made their way out of this life and into whatever lay beyond, there weren't enough left surviving to bury the dead, let alone move them from where they had fallen. Both Donatello and Saki had seen their fair share of death through the years and it had always affected them in some way, but soon they became almost immune to the sight of one more bloated stinking pile of meat and bones laying by the side of the road.

It wasn't until they were four days out of the city that Donatello spotted it. A single, small body curled up under a tree just off the back country road they were following. It was a child, no more than five or six years old. As they approached, the two came to the disturbing realization that this young child had not died of disease, but of something much more terrible; two bloody stains darkened the boy's t-shirt where bullets had ripped into his chest. By the look of the body, it couldn't have happened more than a day or two before, long after the last of the diseased had passed out of this life. This child had been killed by another survivor. With silent agreement, the two spent the rest of the afternoon digging a small grave, and laid the child to rest under the same tree where he'd died. That evening, unbeknownst to each other, they cried themselves to sleep.

It was three more days before they chanced upon another living being. Saki was collecting kindling to start a fire for their lunch time meal of baked beans and canned hash, and Donatello was consulting maps on the hood of a nearby abandoned car. They still hadn't figured out just where the hell they were going, but Don really liked to be sure of where they were. Currently, they were resting at an old filling station and junkyard. Cars, trash, and old oil barrels were scattered about, most likely never to be moved again. He was tracing his finger down a light blue line on the paper when he stopped, his body frozen and his ears straining to confirm what he thought he just heard.

Silence. He turned to look toward the small circle of stones Saki had been working on and saw that his companion had frozen mid-crouch as well, looking back at him with a suspicious look on his face. They stared at each other for what seemed like hours, and then it came again.

"…hello…?" It was faint. Barely louder than a whisper, but they both heard it. "…please… oh god… please help me.." The tone was light and nearly child-like. It had to be a woman, or perhaps a young boy. The voice seemed far off, weak and tired.

Saki took off at a swift run, knocking over the little pyramid of kindling he'd so carefully stacked, while Donatello grabbed a long coat and followed at a distance. They'd both agreed that should they meet someone along the way, Saki should be the one to make introductions and try to ease their fellow survivors into the whole 'hey, my buddy is a giant talking turtle' thing.

He had just pulled the coat on over his shell and plopped a fedora down on his head when he saw Saki stop a couple hundred feet away. The turtle slowed, silently closing the distance between himself and the now kneeling man who was reaching for something down near the front tire of another abandoned vehicle. As he drew closer, he could just make out a shock of curly red hair attached to what looked like a young woman. Donatello hissed inwardly a little as he saw a small pool of blood near the front left tire, where the woman's leg was pinned. He crouched behind a stack of old wooden pallets and watched intently as his companion talked to the woman while inspecting her injury.

"Stupid…" He heard her say softly. "Was messing around… trying to work on the car… didn't know the brake was off…"

Saki gently touched her leg near where the tire held it in place and the woman couldn't hold back her whimpers of pain. "How long have you been like this?" His dark eyes narrowed in concern.

"It happened yesterday…. Oh god… I thought I was going to die here… so stupid…"

"Do not worry… we will get you out."

"We?" She looked around awkwardly, her dull green eyes not quite able to spot Donatello from where he was hidden.

"My friend and I. He is… waiting."

"Waiting? For what, the apocalypse? Hate to break it to you, but that already happened." She stared at him, suspicion growing in her face.

"Stay calm. We will help… I just need to warn you… my friend… his appearance may frighten you at first. But we are not going to hurt you, you have my word."

"Look buddy, I spent all last night throwing rocks at wolves and trying not to pass out. I don't care if your friend looks like Freddy Krueger, as long as you get this friggin' car off of me!"

"Oh, don't worry." Saki leaned back a little and glanced back towards where he knew Donatello was hiding, raising his voice. "He's MUCH uglier than that."

"Yah, like you're such a prize catch…", Don grumbled under his breath, but stepped out of hiding, the coat still mostly hiding his figure. He was in a hurry to help this woman, but at the same time really didn't want to shock her too much. If she'd been pinned there since yesterday, her system probably wouldn't be able to take much more trauma, physical or emotional.

He crossed the remaining distance and stopped a few feet from the red-haired girl, whom he had to admit was rather attractive despite the blood and dust covering her body. Of course, that might just have been because she was the first living woman he'd seen in nearly three weeks. She stared up at him, confused for a moment, but her eyes widened as he crouched down and slowly removed his hat. Don smiled and nodded his head in her direction. "Hello."

There was a long moment of silence before she responded. "Oh. Oh dear." And then she passed out.

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**Author's Notes:** Hope you enjoyed my first chapter in almost 2 years, I think?. :) Please review with your thoughts, likes, dislikes, whatevs. I just like hearing from you guys.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Donatello, or the Shredder. Sasha, I'll take responsibility for though.

**Author's Notes: **Another short chapter. Please please please, review. Even if it's just a short note. I would really like to know if anyone is even enjoying this.

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**The Aftermath – Part 4**

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_Two-three weeks post-outbreak_

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"So… you're a turtle?" Sasha stared at Donatello with glazed over eyes.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Hmmm…" She picked up the little bottle of pills sitting in her lap and squinted hard at it in the twilight. With the added glow from the fire nearby she could just barely read the label. "Are you sure these aren't expired or something?"

"I'm pretty sure." Don was gently wrapping a fresh bandage around Sasha's calf, trying not to jostle her too much. The drugs they'd given her mostly deadened the pain, but it wasn't completely gone. She was propped up against the trunk of tree while Donatello checked her wound, but the way her upper body was starting to weave back and forth, he thought Sasha might need to lay down soon.

"Huh." Her head lolled to the side a bit as a night sound distracted her. She stared off into the distance for a while before somehow managing to pull her eyes back to the giant turtle kneeling in front of her. "If you're real… how do you pee?"

There was a snort of laughter from Saki who was busy stirring a can of beans near the fire. Donatello looked up at the young woman and cocked his head. "I think maybe you had one pill too many. No more for now." He plucked the painkillers from her hand and tucked them into a little medical bag. Sasha made a half-hearted lunge after the bottle, but Donatello held her in place. "No moving, no more pills. No more questions about how I do, or do not urinate. You need to sleep now."

"No, but seriously…" Sasha tilted to the side a little as she raised a hand to point at him. "I need to know… It's going to drive me… something." She started to tip over, but again Don was there to keep her upright.

"Definitely bed time." He very gently picked her up and moved her to a nearby sleeping bag.

"Oooooh, that's soft…" She closed her eyes and snuggled into the pillow, her red hair glinting like gold in the firelight.

"Not really," Donatello smiled as he tucked some blankets around her leg to help keep it stable during the night, "but you're as high as a kite right now, so I'm sure it seems like it."

"I miss kites…" She opened her eyes and frowned up at him in the dark. "Kites were so… pretty."

"Really? When was the last time you flew a kite?" He pulled the cover of the sleeping bag over her small frame and zipped it up to her hip.

"Oh… I've never flown a kite… but I miss them anyway." Sasha closed her eyes again and smiled sadly. "Now I'll never get the chance…"

"You do realize that kites pre-date electricity, right? We don't need to plug one in to get it to work." He brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face and felt a small tug at his heart. He'd barely known this woman a day and he was already looking at her much like a little sister. She was so sweet and silly and kind… although that was most likely just the drugs. But Donatello felt an overwhelming need to protect her for now. It was possible that she might take a turn for the worse if her leg became infected, and he was bound and determined to not let that happen. There had been too much death already.

"Right… kites are… are…" She inhaled deeply and wiggled a bit further down into the sleeping bag… "Um… yah…" Her train of thought derailed as the drugs pushed her closer to sleep.

"Goodnight, Sasha." He whispered softly and stood up, turning toward the fire. A muffled noise was his only reply as he stepped closer to the fire and took a seat next to his former mortal enemy. "Well. Looks like we're going to be stuck here for a few days at the very least."

Saki looked over at the sleeping woman and then down to his pack. "We have enough food for now, but one of us will probably have to go back to the little market we passed yesterday. I found a few cans of food in the store room of the filling station over there, but only enough for one meal; two if we really stretch it. She needs as much food as we can spare for her right now. We also need to stock up on some more water."

Donatello breathed out a heavy sigh and stared into the fire before answering. "You know… I think I've figured out what we need to do. In the long run, I mean."

Saki turned his dark eyes to his companion. "If you even think of suggesting that we need to begin repopulating the earth, then I place dibs on Sasha over there. I do not think you and I would make very good looking children."

"Heh…" The turtle picked up a stick and poked at the fire absently. "I have to say I agree with you there. But I was thinking more along the lines of where we should go. I think I've figured something out."

Donatello leaned over and reached into his pack, pulling out the road map he'd been meticulously marking and looking over every time they stopped walking. He opened it up and refolded it so that Saki could see the marks he'd been making. Pointing at a little red circle on the map, Don tapped it twice for emphasis.

"There. 165 miles northwest of where we are now, there's a small town named Riversaw. And when I say small, I mean small. Before the plague hit it had a population of about 1,500… give or take."

"It sounds cozy." Saki smirked, but nodded for Donatello to continue.

"Well, the town is only a perk. The actual destination is a small radio station a few miles outside of Riversaw. There's a small plant that supplies the power for the station and most of the town. If I can get the station up and running, we can try to contact other people and try to rebuild some semblance of a society." Don circled his finger around the surrounding land of Riversaw. "Also, this is very rich farmland. It wouldn't take much to get some good crops going over the next few years. We'll need to clear the town of bodies if we want to live there… but I think it's our best option. Unless you _want_ to keep wandering through the amazingly depressing wilderness of the eastern United States.."

Sake pursed his lips and looked at the map for a few moments. "As much I love the male bonding, such as it is… I could do without all the walking. I think it sounds like a very good idea."

"Well… good." Don stared at the map for a few more seconds, then folded it back up the right way. He stuffed it back in his pack and took the can of beans that Saki was now offering him. He took a bite while looking thoughtfully at the fire. "Y'know… I'd kill for a pizza right about now."

The Japanese man chuckled lightly. "I'd kill for my wife's meatloaf. Such an odd thing… a greasy loaf of ground meat that looked more fit for a dog. In all honesty, it tasted that way too… but I'd give anything to have her make it for me again…" His smile faded as one of the logs cracked in the fire.

They sat there in the dying firelight, trying to pretend the canned beans were luxuries of days gone by. As flames died down leaving only glowing coals in the small circle of bricks and stones, Saki looked over to his companion and raised his fist. "So who gets to make the trek back for supplies tomorrow?"

Donatello sighed and set down the empty can. He raised his hand and on the count of three, they battled. Saki's scissors beat Donatello's paper. The turtle groaned and raised his hand again.

"Best two out of three?"

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**Author's Notes:** Still trying to get back in the swing of things. This chapter came so much easier than Chapter 3. I hate to say it, but this story is actually more intriguing to me right now than Further Misadventures. That's the sucky thing about having more than one ongoing story. :) Oh well. Hope you enjoyed.


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